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4 Sheets-Sheet 1. S. D. POOLE.

DISK PLOW.

(No Mudel.)

,No. 548,590. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

KNDEEW BERARAM,PMOTO-UTMUWASHINGYUNYDL (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' S. D. POOLE.

I DISK PLOW. No. 548,590. Patentedflct. 22,1895.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3, S. D. POOLE.

DISK PLOW (No Model.)

No. 548,590. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

w t] H 01-11013 0.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. S. D. POOLE.

DISK PLOW No. 548,590. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT rrrcs,

STALEY D. PUOLE, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T 0 THE DEERE do COMPANY,OF SAME PLACE.

DISK PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,590, dated October22, 1895.

Application filed August 22, 1895. Serial No. 560,123. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STALEY D. POOLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Disk Flows; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to plows, but more particularly to that class ofmachines known as disk plows.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a plow of thecharacter referred to which shall be capable of stirring up andloosening the soil and subsoil to a greater depth than is possible withplows in common use, and which shall not leave the earth over which itpasses or bottom of the furrow so compact, smooth, and hard as to renderthe soil below the furrow-bottom practically impervious to water, as dothe plows in common use, and which, at the same time, shall be light ofdraft, simple in construction, inexpensive inmanufacture, and efficientand durable in use.

A further object is to provide means whereby the revolving disk shall beheld down to its work without the use of weights or heavy and cumbersomeframes, such as are required with disk plows in general use.

The invention will be first more particularly hereinafter described, andthen pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

According to common methods of plowing, the base of the furrow, owing tothe downward pressure produced by the weight or draft of the team andthe leverage of the plow-point against the furrow-bottom, is left hardand smooth, so that when a torrential rain-fall comes upon land thusplowed, particularly on rolling or hilly ground, the water, instead ofpercolating or sinking into the earth, to be there stored for subsequentuse in nourishing vegetation, is allowed to run along the smooth impactsurface of the furrow-bottom, carrying with it much of the fertile soiland thereby greatly impoverishing the land.

Furthermore, according to usual methods of plowing year-after year atabout the same depth, the main force of the teams strength is exhaustedin pressing the bottom of the furrow into a polished trough for theconduction of rain down the side hills, and,in addition to this, thetread of the horses in the bottom of the furrow makes in a few seasonsan almost impenetrable bed for water. ural sequence to this sort oftillage,a vast erosion of land has resulted, particularly in the WesternStates.

It has been estimated that in the State of Ohio alone a million or moreof acres of land have been rendered utterly useless and intertile byreason of the washing and erosion of the soil due to common methods oftillage, and that the present inefficient and ill-resulting methods ofplowing, especially upon undulatin g lands, costs the farmers of theUnited States two hundred and fifty thousand square miles of soil eachyear by erosion. pecially true of Nebraska and other Western States,where torrential rain-falls are so frequent, the fertile soil beingWashed away down into gulches, valleys, and creeks,while the infertilesoil remains impoverished and useless.

The main objects to be attained in the cultivation of the soil,particularly in the northwestern portions of the country, are to stir,separate, and pulverize or loosen the earth at a greater depth with thesame plow than it is possible to stir and separate or loosen it with thecontrivances or implements for plowing now in use, so as to provide, asit were, areservoir for the rainfall, whereby the moisture which underthe present system of shallow tillage is itself carried away, and withit much of the best loamy soils of the sloping lands, may be retained toafford food-nourishment to the vegetation, and whereby the plowed landis adapted at the same time to serve as a preventive of erosion and aninsurance of remunerative crops.

What has been said applies especially to the ordinary moldboard-plow. Inthis class of plows; owing to the fact that the wearing surfaces aresliding frictional surfaces, a great loss of power is occasioned byfriction and by the adherence of sticky earth upon the surfaces of themoldboard and share. To over- This is es- As a natcomethese'difticulties the rotary or disk plow has been resorted to,but'with only par- I compared with the moldhoard-plow, and the disk isreadily kept smooth and lnight by vthe action of the soil thereon; andwith the rotary plowthe advantages of pulverization of the soil to asomewhat greater depth for the same expenditure of power than isobtained by the use of an drdinary mol'dhoardplow have been attained.Nevertheless'in' order toeffect the necessary penetration of zthe disks,the plow-frame has either been made very heavy or weighted, in order tokeep the disks in the ground, and as aresult of this the disks in looseground will sink too deep and in hard soil will not penetrate deepenough, so that the results are unsatisfactory,

and theadditional weight required to effect 1 thcdesired depth ofpenetration under ordinary conditions adds heavily to ihedraft andrenders theplow'heavy and difficult to handle. This difficulty ofkeepingthediskor disksin the ground and penetrating to the desired depthwithout; heavily weightingthe w plow or providing a very heavy frame isa serious objection to such disk plows as-have heretofore been proposed.

' My invention is designed to overcome the foregoingfandother-objections incident to theuse of both classes of plows :referredto, and to combine the advantages of both in a I 7 light, easilyhandled, yet strong, efficient, and

durable disk plow, which shall meet; the requirements with respect todeep tillage without impacting and hardening the earth at the base ofthe furrows, so as to cause waste and impoverishment of the land bywashing and erosion.

1 have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part; ofthis specification, a preferred form of my invention, in which the diskplow and parts cooperating therewith are arranged upon a sulky orwheeled frame; but it will be understood, of course, that theimprovement is adapted to be used in other relations, either with orwithout a wheeled frame, and hence I do not desire to be restricted inthe application of the invention to the particular form shown, nor to awheel or sulky attachment.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective View of myimproved disk plow applied to a wheel or sulky frame, such view beingtaken from the right-hand side of the machine. Fig. 2 is a similar viewof the plow, taken from the opposite side thereof. Fig. 3 is a frontperspective view, and Fig. 4: a rear perspective view, of the same. Fig.5

is a side elevation of the plow with parts of the wheeled frame broken.away, and illustrating infull and dotted lines the relative positionsof the parts in plowing; and Fig. 6

indeed is a detail perspective view,on a slightly enlarged scale, ofthemain castings of the disk- 'wheelsbeingjournaled upon a crank-axle whichis fitted in suitable bearings attached to the axle or frame of themachine, sons to permit said wheels to be readily raisedand lowered bymeans of suitable operating-levers for the purpose of'varying the depthof penetration ofthe plow and for elevating the J same upon the surfaceof the earth when it; I is desired to transport the plow from place toplace. i

The beam or frainebars A may be provided with a cle'visor draftconnection of the form shown or of any preferred construction.

, As shown, the axle of the landwvheel B has vided with aspring-actuated dog or detent adapted toengagea rack B fixed to the axleor 'frainebarl), whereby thelever and crank axle, with the wheeljournaled thereon, may be adjusted and secured'in different positions tovary the depthof cut and inclination of the plow-disk'or to raise thesame above the surface of the ground, saidlever being provided with athumb-lever and sliding rod, con

secured theretoa'hand-lever B, which is pro- "KOO necting the same withthe spring actuated dog, so that the latter maybe released fromengagement with the rack to permit the dc sired adjustment of the lever.A spring 15 placed upon a rod which is pivoted at one end to the lever Band has its opposite end loosely and slidingly connected to theoutercranked portion of the axle which carries the landwheel, holds saidwheel yieldingly in whatever position it may be adjusted, so that thewheel may accommodate itself to irregularities in the surface of theearth, and may rise and fall, within certain limits, without affectingthe plow.

As shown, the staggered or guide wheel 0 is journaled upon the spindle0f the crankaxle in such relation to the revolving disk as to adapt thewheel to run in the last; preceding furrow turned by the disk, with itsperipheral portion bearing against the landside portion of the furrow,so as to assist in keeping the plow in line and to resist the tendencyof the disk to run to land, as usual with stagger-wheels. To the axle Oof the guide-Wheel O is secured an angle-bar c, the upright arm of whichis adjustably connected by means of a bar orv rod 6 with a hand-lever E.The lever E is pivotally mounted upon the frame A adjacent; to a rack F,the teeth of which are engaged by a spring-actuated dog or detent uponsaid lever, by which the lever may be locked in different positions, soas to hold the stagger-wheel at different elevations, said dog or detentbeing controlled by a thumb -lever pivoted to the hand-lever andconnected with said dog in the usual well-known manner. In conjunctionwith the lever E, I may also employ, as shown, a coiled or othersuitable spring G, which is adapted to normally resist the movement ofthe lever E when thrown forward, but assists the rearward movementthereof, so that in lowering the guide-wheel and thereby raising theplow the spring will assist the operation, while the weight of the frameand of the driver mounted thereon assist the movement of the lever inthe opposite direction opposing the force of the spring. This springsurrounds a rod or bar g, the lower end of which is pivoted upon theframe A, while its upper end projects through an eyepiece 8, carried bythe lever E, said spring being interposed between the pivot of the rodand the eye-piece on the hand-lever in such manner as to accomplish thedesired effect in raising the plow. The eye-piece e is adapted to beadjusted and secured in difierent positions upon the lever for thepurpose of va-j rying the tension or power of the spring. Theconnecting-rod e is also preferably provided with a series ofperforations at one or both ends thereof, so as to permit its point ofconnection with the crank-lever or the hand-lever to be shifted to varythe relative positions of the guide-wheel and its operating-lever, asmay be desired.

The hand-levers B'and E are arranged near enough to the drivers seat Hto enable the driver to grasp and operate either lever at will forcontrolling the action of the plow in operation, and for raising andlowering the same in going off or onto the land to be plowed.

At the rear end of the beam or frame-bars A are secured the castings A Awhich support the disk plow I and the subsoiler K. These castings arebowed or arched and secured together at their front and rear ends insuch position that the bowed or arched portion of the part A occupies aVertical position substantially at right angles to thehorizontally-arranged portion A thus providing an unobstructed spacebetween the two castings for the attachment of the revolving diskcrosswise of the beam or support and at an angle thereto, with its axialline in the plane of the vertical arch and its convex surface extendedat one side thereof in proximity to the concave face of the horizontalcasting. The casting A is formed or provided on its convex surface witha flange or plate 0?, which is perforated at a a to receive thefastening-bolts by which it is secured to the axle or frame-piece D, andalso the bolts by which the standard h of the drivers seat H is securedthereto. To the tion of this angle, and in order to cut and turn afurrow of the required width anddepth it must be moved in substantiallyastraight line. This has heretofore been ineffectually accomplished bymeans of stagger-wheels and weights or by the use of a heavy cumbersomeframe, which in some soils may produce tolerably fair results. To avoidthe necessity for weights or for weighting the disk to hold it to itswork, I employ what may be termed a wedge-shaped shoe or hook, whichperforms the double function of drawing and holding the disk down to itswork, so as to effect the desired penetration, and at the same timeserves as a subsoiler for loosening up the bottom of the furrow belowthe cutof the disk, whereby the penetration of the disk is facilitatedand the ground is left in such condition as to prevent washing andwasting of the plowed soil on undulating lands. This subsoiler consistspreferably of a wedge-shaped shoe 70, arranged to penetrate the earthbelow the disk and having its point or toe projected underneath thedisk, while its heel projects slightly rearward of the cutting-edgethereof, said shoe being secured to or formed integrally with a standardk, which depends from the rear portion of the plow beam or casting A. Asshown, the standard it is provided with a series of perforations bywhich it is bolted to the rear end of the casting A and maybe securedthereto at different elevations for causing the shoe or subsoiler topenetrate to a greater or less depth below the depth of 'cut of therevolving-disk, so as to meet the various requirements to which it maybe put. The shoe may be otherwise positioned, however, and may have itstoe placed in front or in rear of the position shown and may be usedeither with or without theheel-piece and landside portion withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, the essential feature of thearrangement being to adapt the shoe to penetrate and loosen the earthbelow the cut of the disk and to draw the disk down to the desired depthand hold it to its work. The standard I0 is adapted to fit snugly in arecess or guideway (1, provided therefor at the rear end of the castingA, to which it is secured by bolts a", passing through perforations inboth the casting and the standard, the latter being provided with aseries of perforations to permit the standard to be raised or lowered tovary the depth of penetration of the shoe in plowing different varietiesof soil and to meet other requirements in use.

The shoe 7c is preferably of the wedgeshaped form shown in the drawings,having a landside-bar 70 which tends to cause the plow to run in astraight line and resists the sidewise draft of the disk or its tendencyto run to land.

In plowing soil of a sticky or plastic nature a scraper L may beemployed to keep the surface of the disk clear and bright, said scraperbeing arranged to bear yieldingly upon the concave faceof the disk,rearward of the axis thereof, and secured to the pendent end of a springbar or arm M, having its opposite end secured to the casting A.

The operationof the invention will be readily understood from theforegoing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. As is well understood, the tendency of the disk is to run inthe direction of the angle at which it is set, or diagonally to the lineof draft, and to cut and turn a furrow of the required uniform width itmust be moved in a straight line, givingit a revolving scraping cut. Thewedge-shaped point or shoe is peculiarly adapted to penetrate and loosenthe ground to the required depth permitted, under limitations imposed bythe adjustment of the sup,porting-wheels, and the full draft of theteam, less the power required to draw the light sulky-frame over theground, is expended in this direction, while the suction of the wedge orshoe is exerted in drawing or pulling the disk into the ground alreadypartially broken or loosened by the wedge, the land and stagger wheelserving to gage the depth of penetration and prevent the disk fromrunning too far to land.

The cutting-angle of the edge of the disk tends to wear it to asharpedge on the under side, while the shedding of the soil from its oppositeface wears the reverse inner edge of the disk and preserves a sharpcutting-edge at all times. About one-quarter of thecircle described bythe disk does the cutting and another quarter the turning, and by thecombined action of the disk and subsoil device the soil is effectuallypulverized and left in such condition as to permit of absorption ofmoisture to afford food nourishment to the plants and to prevent loss offertile soil bywashing and erosion. The disk also serves as a corn-stalkcutter and dispenses with the use of that implement.

The usual method of subsoiling is to follow the ordinary turning-plowwith a subsoilplow, which loosens up the ground below the depth of cutof the preceding plow; but with my improved combination of rotary diskand wedge-point, the latter to insure penetration of the disk in thehardest ground, both operations are performed at one and the same time,the disk cutting and turning over the top furrow and being held to itswork by the subsoil device, which penetrates to a greater depth,crumbling the furrow bottom and comminuting it so as to serve as aporous foundation for the mold or soil which is turned upon it by thedisk in its next furrow.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a disk-plow, the combination of the revolving disk adapted toindependently cut and turn a furrow, with the subsoil device arranged topenetrate and loosen up the soil below the depth of cut of the disk, andadapted to draw the disk into the soil and hold it down to its work,substantially as described.

2. In a disk plow, the combination of the plow-beam, the rotary diskarranged to revolve diagonally to the line of draft, and toindependently cut and turn a furrow, and the wedge-shaped shoe supportedbelow the cutting edge of the disk and having its toe extended under thedisk, so as to loosen up the soil below the depth of cut of the disk andto draw and hold the disk down to its work, substantially as described.

3. A subsoil plow comprising a suitable beam, an independent revolvingfurrow-cutting and turning disk arranged at an angle to said beam, and awedge-shaped subsoil device arranged below the cutting edge of the diskand adapted to draw and hold the disk down to its work, substantially asdescribed.

4.. A combined turn-plow and subsoiler comprising a suitable beam, arevolving disk journaled in bearings at an angle to the line of draft,and adapted to independently cut and turn a furrow, and a wedge-shapedshoe arranged below the plane of the disk and having its toe extendedunderneath the disk; said shoe being adapted to penetrate and loosen thesoil below the depth of cut of the disk and at the same time to draw andhold the disk down to its work, substantially as described 5. A combinedturn-plow and subsoiler comprisinga suitable beam, a revolving diskjournaled in bearings at an angle to the line of draft, and a verticallyadjustable wedgeshaped shoe arranged below the plane of the disk andhaving its toe extended underneath the disk beyond its forward cuttingedge; said shoe being adapted to penetrate and loosen the soil below thedepth of cut of the disk and at the same time to draw and hold the diskdown to its work, substantially as described.

6. Acombined turn-plow and subsoiler comprising a suitable beam, arevolving disk carried by said beam so as to revolve at an angle to theline of draft,astandarddependingfrom said beam directly in rear of therevolving disk, and a wedge-shaped shoe at the foot of said standardhaving its point extended underneath and below the disk beyond its forward cutting edge; said shoe being adapted to hold the disk to its -workand to loosen the soil below the depth of cut of the disk, substantiallyas described.

7. A disk-plow and subsoiler combined, comprising a sulky frame, arevolving disk carried by said frame, and means for raising and loweringthe disk so as to gage the depth of penetration thereof, together with awedgeshaped shoe depending from the plow-beam or frame in the rear ofthe disk and extending to a point underneath the disk beyond its forwardcutting edge; said shoe being adapted to penetrate the earth and loosenup the soil below the depth of cut of the disk, and to draw and hold thedisk down to its work, substantially as described.

8. In combination with the plow frame, or beam, the revolving diskjournaled in suitable bearings so as to revolve at an angle to thelinoof draft; said beam carrying at its rear end a subsoil attachmentconsisting of a wedge-shaped shoe the toe of which extends underneathand below the cutting edge of the disk; said shoe being provided with alandside bar which extends rearwardly of the disk, whereby the soil isloosened up below the depth of penetration of the disk and the disk helddown to its work while the plow is held parallel to the line of draft,substantially as described.

9. In combination with the arched plowbeam and the revolving diskcarried thereby' underneath the arch, the subsoil device consisting of awedge-shaped shoe secured to the foot of a vertically adjustablestandard arranged in rear of the disk and having a landside portion tohold the plow in line and an elongated toe or point extending underneaththe disk so as to draw the latter down and hold it to its work,substantially as described.

10. A combined disk-plow and subsoiler comprising a suitable frame, adisk journaled in bearings carried by said frame and arranged to revolveat an angle to the line of draft, a standard secured to the plow-framedirectly in the rear of the disk, and a wedgeshaped shoe secured to thefoot of said standard and having its point extended forward of the axialline of the disk and below the lower edge thereof; said shoe beingprovided with a land-side portion extending rearward of the disk,whereby the disk is drawn down and held to its work and also held in theline of draft, while the soil is loosened below the depth of out of thedisk, substantially as described.

11. In a disk-plow the plow-frame or beam proper and the disk-supportingcastings secured thereto, consisting of a pair of bowed or arched piecessecured together at both ends, one of said pieces having the archthereof arranged in a vertical plane parallel with the draft beam properand the other in a horizontal plane substantially at right angles to thevertical portion, and a revolving disk journaled underneath the upperarch diagonally to the line of draft so that its upper portion mayrevolve in the clearance provided by the bowed portions of the castings,substantially as described.

12. In combination with a plow-beam or frame proper, the disk-supportingcastings consisting of two arched or bowed portions secured together attheir ends and having their united front ends secured to said frame ordraft beam proper; the bow of one portion being horizontally arrangedand the bow of the other portion vertically arranged substantially atright angles to the horizontal portion, the latter portion having alateral perforated plate or flange projecting from its outer convexsurface, for the attachment thereto of the Wheeled frame or beam, andthe vertical portion having at its rear end a recess for the attachmentof the upright or standard of a subsoil device; said castings beingadapted to afford support for a disk adapted to revolve with its upperportion arranged in the clearance provided by the bows of the castings,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STALEY D. POOLE. Witnesses:

FRED H. COOPER, JOHN GALI.

